Behavior Assessment Report

Personal Information

Name

Matthew Lee

Age

Nine years old

Gender

Male

Ethnicity

Asian American

Birth and development

Matthew was diagnosed with Down syndrome at birth and autism at age 5. Ms. Lee describes Matthew as a quiet baby who would lie around for hours. He began crawling at 20 months and did not walk until he was almost 3 1/2 years old. Matthew would scoot around on his butt to move about the house. Most of the time, he would move himself to a place where he could be alone. He would entertain himself with shoes, socks, a blanket, and so forth; however, he was not interested in toys at all.

Family situation

Matthew has two siblings: Kathy, age 12; and Kyle, age 7. His brother Kyle surpassed Matthew when he was only 4 years old. Mr. Lee is a truck driver and is not home often. Ms. Lee volunteers at the school three to five times a week.

Type of ASD

ASD-NOS and Down syndrome

Individual needs

Matthew's challenges are communication, impulsivity, and behavior that may include tantrums, aggression, and property destruction. These behaviors have made it difficult for Matthew to participate in activities with peers.

Educational Information

Grade level

Fourth grade

School history

Matthew was moved to a self-contained special education classroom due to his cognitive abilities and behavioral needs during second grade. Prior to this, he was in a regular education classroom. The decision to move Matthew to a more restrictive classroom was made in lieu of him being retained, with the goal to provide the individualized instruction needed to catch him up. Ms. Lee is adamant that he can catch up with his peers.

Academic and functional skills

Matthew is currently functioning at a pre-primer level. When Matthew entered kindergarten, he struggled to perform basic functions, such as matching, coloring, and counting, and he lacked the ability to hold a pencil or crayon. Ms. Lee often comes in to volunteer, at which time Matthew wants her attention. Teachers allow Ms. Lee to volunteer because it frees them from providing the one-on-one attention Matthew requires. However, this has presented problems with Matthew making academic, social, emotional, or behavioral improvements. The current individualized education program (IEP) team is asking the administration to place Ms. Lee in another classroom and wants to present a new plan to help him in these areas.

Communication skills

Matthew does not initiate or participate in any communication. Teachers feel the priority for improving his communication needs must include social communication, such as sharing a range of emotions with symbols; sharing intentions for joint attention by commenting on objects, actions, and events; or requesting information with various people and contexts.

Behavioral challenges

Matthew needs to work on his ability to request assistance with emotional regulation from others, respond to assistance across contexts, and respond to the use of language strategies across environments, rather than trying to communicate with tantrums, aggression, and property destruction.

Matthew recently began to throw his food across the table during lunch. Ms. Lee now sits with him alone. Teachers have realized that his acting-out behaviors are a way for Matthew to get what he wants. What he wants is to be alone; therefore, his behavior is being rewarded.

IEP goals

Behavioral: When given a directive, Mathew will regulate his behavior by increasing or decreasing his intensity of emotions more consistently, although adult guidance is sometimes necessary, as measured in eight out of ten consecutive situations.

Communication: When needing assistance, Mathew will initiate problem-solving strategies and seek adult help when necessary, as measured in eight out of ten consecutive situations. During classroom activities, Mathew will remain focused on engaging with his peers, for about 10 minutes at a time each day, as measured for three consecutive weeks.

Personal Information

Name

Natalya Ramos

Age

Eight years old

Gender

Female

Ethnicity

Hispanic

Birth and development

Natalya was a full-term baby delivered with no complications. Natalya's mother reported that, as a baby and toddler, she was healthy and her motor development was within normal limits for the major milestones of sitting, standing, and walking. It was not until age 3 that her mother described her as having difficulty communicating and not playing as other children in her age group. At 3 years, Natalya had not developed any words.

Family situation

Natalya is an only child. Mrs. Ramos was in her early 40s when she was born. Mr. and Mrs. Ramos are involved in Natalya's school. Given that Natalya is an only child, she did not have opportunities to play with children until entering kindergarten.

Mr. and Mrs. Ramos own a business. They spend most of their time with Natalya and she is given whatever she wants. She is often absent from school and her parents have been questioned about her lack of attendance. However, Natalya throws fits every morning and they are not able to control her behavior to get her to come to school.

Type of ASD

ASD-NOS

Individual needs

Natalya communicates her needs by hitting, grabbing, and pushing. The students in her class are afraid to be around her. She eats all the time and is a bit overweight for her age.

Educational Information

Grade level

Second grade

School history

Natalya began receiving special education services when she was in kindergarten. Teachers have tried various strategies to get her behavior under control. Although her parents are involved in school, they lack the parenting skills to provide the structure Natalya needs at home.

Academic and functional skills

Natalya is bright and teachers feel if her behaviors were under control, she would make more progress academically. She is reading at a second-grade level, her writing is not legible, and her math skills are at a beginning first-grade level. She can get dressed, brush her teeth, and go to the restroom with minimal assistance. She enjoys using the computer and her parents provide her with educational games to work with at home.

Communication skills

Natalya communicates through nonverbal means, such as pointing, grabbing, and pushing. In class, she yells and is often off-task during class activities.

Behavioral challenges

Natalya displays self-stimulatory behavior in the form of rocking, hand-turning, and hand-flapping. She does not follow instructions, such as walking in line or working in centers, and is often difficult to control in the classroom.

IEP goals

Behavioral: When given a directive, Natalya will demonstrate more appropriate behaviors using pictures with occasional reminders or assistance from the teacher, as measured in eight out of ten consecutive situations. When given a daily schedule, Natalya will sustain attention to personally chosen or routine tasks until they are completed, as measured for three consecutive weeks.

Communication: When needing assistance, Natalya will use pictures to get adults to respond to her needs and wishes, as measured in eight out of ten consecutive situations.

Personal Information

Name

Nathan Brooks

Age

Ten years old

Gender

Male

Ethnicity

Black

Birth and development

Nathan was born four weeks early and experienced some respiratory difficulties. Nathan's mom, Mrs. Myers, reports that Nathan remained in the hospital for an additional four weeks after she went home. Nathan's developmental milestones were all met with the exception of communication and playing with other children.

Family situation

Mrs. Myers remarried after Nathan was 3 years old. Nathan has a sister who is 5 years old. Mr. Myers is an electrical engineer. Mrs. Myers states that Nathan does not get along with her husband and has no contact with his biological father. She is the peacemaker and tries to keep Nathan occupied when Mr. Myers is at home, to keep the household from being chaotic. Nathan cannot be left alone in the same room with his sister; it is often a battle when they are around each other.

Type of ASD

Asperger's syndrome

Individual needs

Nathan is a perfectionist, which causes him difficulty with his teachers, parents, and other students. He does not understand social cues or communication. Nathan throws fits when things do not go his way.

Educational Information

Grade level

Fourth grade

School history

Nathan has always been in regular education classrooms. He struggles to work with his peers, and they are often frustrated with his arrogance. He feels everything must be done his way. Nathan has been suspended several times due to his outbursts. He often argues with teachers. Nathan does well with teachers who are structured and have high expectations. This year has been especially frustrating, because Mrs. Myers feels he is bored with the work he is doing in class. She thinks it is apparent that the teacher is not prepared to work at his academic level.

Academic and functional skills

Nathan is extremely smart and often completes his work with great ease. However, he is a perfectionist and insists on rewriting, redoing, or changing his answers before he turns his assignments in. He overthinks everything beyond what is asked of him on any given task. Often, his progress reports reflect a failing grade due to his failure to turn in his work, because he fears doing something wrong. When he turns his assignments in, he has a behavioral problem if the teacher does not have something else for him to do, so she often encourages him to double-check his work. Nathan also tends to misplace or lose his work, which causes a tremendous amount of anxiety.

Communication skills

Nathan has a hard time communicating with anyone. He is often blunt and rude. Nathan argues constantly with adults and will throw things if he is frustrated.

Behavioral challenges

Nathan was recently suspended due to his outbursts in class. He has thrown chairs, desks, and schoolwork. He does not seem to understand the consequences resulting from his behavior.

IEP goals

Behavioral: When completing an assignment, Nathan will immediately turn in his assignment to be graded with an understanding that corrections can be made; mastery will be indicated by a passing grade of 85% or higher on his report card. When given an unknown assignment, Nathan will demonstrate a reasonable understanding of his abilities and limitations by regulating his behavior, limiting outbursts, tantrums, and aggression with occasional reminders or assistance from the teacher, as measured in eight out of ten consecutive situations.

Communication: When needing assistance, Jacob will initiate problem-solving strategies and seek adult help when necessary, as measured in eight out of ten consecutive situations. During classroom activities, Nathan will demonstrate an understanding that others have perspectives and feelings different from his own, as measured in eight out of ten consecutive situations.

Personal Information

Name

Kimberly Wilkes

Age

Seven years old

Gender

Female

Ethnicity

White

Birth and development

Mrs. Wilkes says Kimberly had a normal childbirth and there were no complications. She did not begin to notice the developmental and communication delays until Kimberly was 12 months old. Kimberly has a cousin who is three months younger and Mrs. Wilkes began noticing that the cousin was progressing through her developmental milestones much faster than Kimberly. Mrs. Wilkes immediately requested assistance and Kimberly has been receiving educational support since she was 3 years old.

Family situation

Kimberly is an only child, which is difficult because she is used to being alone at home. Mrs. Wilkes does work but is available to take and pick Kimberly up from school every day. Mrs. Wilkes’ mom lives with her and is always with Kimberly. Mr. Wilkes works in retail and is often not home on evenings and weekends. Kimberly spends most of her time with her mother and grandmother. Mrs. Wilkes takes Kimberly to spend time with her cousin; however, Kimberly becomes aggressive and is not willing to share or play like most children her age.

Type of ASD

Severe autism

Individual needs

Kimberly must learn how to communicate her needs, especially when she becomes stressed or overstimulated. She also needs assistance with social skills and working or playing with her peers. It has been suggested that music therapy may be beneficial to Kimberly.

Educational Information

Grade level

First grade

School history

Kimberly has been in school since age 3. She has received early childhood services with a team of specialists to provide support for her autism. She was in a self-contained classroom during pre-kindergarten and kindergarten, with a student–adult ratio of 2:1. This year, the IEP committee feels she will be best served in the general education classroom. However, the team must ensure that they have a plan in place to provide Kimberly with the support she needs.

Her kindergarten teacher was structured. Kimberly always had a schedule for the day with a goal to reach for by the time she was taken to the bus. If she reached her goal for the day, she was given a choice, which would vary, but included things such as 15 minutes of sensory stimuli: playing on the computer, coloring, listening to music, or eating a healthy snack. Kimberly does not do well with any type of change, but has been successful with using video modeling and social stories.

Academic and functional skills

Kimberly can write her first name and the numbers 1–20. She also knows her colors. Her work in the classroom has been limited to station teaching, centers, and limited interaction with her peers.

Kimberly needs sensory integration strategies throughout the day, which has helped reduce her meltdowns. When she becomes overly stimulated, she will wring her hands, rock back and forth, and hold her hands over her face while tapping the right side of her face with her index finger. The teachers and paraeducators have done an excellent job of watching for these cues and providing support to eliminate these behaviors.

Communication skills

Kimberly usually makes requests using one or two words. However, on many days, she may not speak at all. She likes using pictures to communicate and may benefit from some type of communication device.

Behavioral challenges

On difficult days, Kimberly will begin rocking, screaming, and lying down on the floor crying.

IEP goals

Behavioral: When given a directive, Kimberly will regulate her behavior with occasional reminders or assistance from the teacher, as measured in eight out of ten consecutive situations.

Communication: When needing assistance, Kimberly will initiate problem-solving strategies and seek adult help when necessary, as measured in eight out of ten consecutive situations. During classroom activities, Kimberly will increasingly interact and communicate with peers to initiate pretend play scenarios that share a common plan and goal, for about 10 minutes at a time each day, as measured for three consecutive weeks.